New footage from Taiji in Japan, known as “killing cove,” shows dolphins being hauled in for meat or entertainment. According to the Daily Mail, divers are shown wrestling with the dolphins to get them onto the boat.

The footage was captured by Dolphin Project. An estimated 2,000 dolphins are captured in the cove this time of year. Many are sold for meat. Other dolphins are sold for up to $247,508 once they have been trained.

People that vacation at resorts where they are allowed to “play” with dolphins are often unaware of the heartbreak behind their capture. According to Tim Burns, of the Dolphin Project, ” Tourists are largely unaware of how many creatures have died so they can swim with that one ­dolphin they meet,” he told the Daily Mail.

The killing at Taiji has been going on since 1950. Still legal in Japan, fishermen can hunt and catch the mammals without repercussions. According to the Dolphin Project, hunters put steel poles into the water to score the dolphins and then hit them with hammers. When the dolphins try to swim away, they are captured by nets.

See the heartbreaking footage below. Warning: distressing content

Sign the petition below to help end the Taiji dolphin slaughter.

Learn more about the slaughter in Japan in One Green Planet, check out these articles:

• This Fact About How Taiji Dolphin Hunts Are Connected to Marine Parks Will Make Your Jaw Drop
• Hydrated Through Tubes and Fed Medicated Fish: The Horrible Life of Dolphins Captured in Taiji
• Heartbreaking Photos Expose the Rife Abuse and Neglect at the Taiji Whale Museum
• The Taiji Whale Museum: A Dolphin’s Worst Nightmare
• Clashing Opinions on the End of the Cruel Taiji Dolphin Hunts: Why We Can’t Give Up Now
• 5 Ways You Can Help End the Dolphin Slaughter in Taiji, Japan
• Heartbreaking! Pod of Taiji Dolphins Trapped in Cove Huddled Together for Comfort Before Slaughter

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